[SatNews] Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) has an agreement with ZTR(TM) Control Systems to use Iridium's M2M Short Burst Data (SBD) service to provide satellite connectivity to the ZTR inReach(R) remote monitoring solution.

Under the agreement, Iridium will enable ZTR Control Systems, a leader of industrial telematics services, to provide reliable connectivity and data services anywhere in the world using Iridium's constellation of satellites. Starting in April, ZTR will add Intelligent Dual Mode™ capability (cellular and Iridium(R)) to its flagship telematics device, providing automatic least-cost-routing of data to ensure that it is implemented in the most cost-effective manner. Companies in the oil & gas, marine, rental, construction and rail industries are expected to benefit from this comprehensive, intelligent wireless coverage enabling their ZTR productivity solution.

"Iridium understands the crucial role connectivity plays in the end-to-end telematics solution." said Bryan Hartin, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Iridium. "Iridium's leadership in core machine-to-machine (M2M) satellite connectivity is built on the only network that covers 100 percent of the globe, making Iridium the best choice when ubiquitous coverage is required. Especially given 90 percent of the world is not covered by terrestrial networks. Additionally, our Iridium NEXT constellation, scheduled to begin launch in 2015, will support the M2M technology we have in the field today."

"Our partnership with Iridium has enabled us to deliver Intelligent Dual Mode to our customers using best in breed wireless coverage. This will greatly simplify the management of our customer's telematics-equipped fleets," said Michael Tidy, general manager of the connected asset division at ZTR Control Systems. "At ZTR, our long-standing goal is to make things that are complex simple for our customers, and this partnership helps us to continue to do just that."

Iridium's M2M growth strategy includes serving mission-critical enterprise communication needs for fleet and vehicle tracking, heavy equipment, container and mobile asset tracking across the utility, oil and gas, maritime and aviation markets. Iridium's M2M data subscribers have grown at a 56 percent compound annual rate since 2008, and now represent 45 percent of its total customer base. The company now draws over one-fifth of its commercial service revenue from the satellite M2M market segment. Global M2M-connected devices are expected to grow from 3.2 billion in 2013 to 18.3 billion in 2022, according to Machina Research.